ALBANY COUNTY — Albany County has locked in its legislative district lines for the next decade. 

On Jan. 9, the Albany County Legislature voted unanimously to approve the new legislative districts map submitted by the redistricting commission in December. 

That map was the second map proposed during the lengthy process, with the first being rejected by most Democrats — who control the legislature — earlier in 2022 for diluting minority voting power by spreading the populations out across up to seven majority-minority districts. The approved map shrinks the number back down to five, the same as exists now. 

“When the Legislature passed Local Law 8 for 2019 establishing an independent redistricting process, our hope was that every 10 years the County would have new maps that adequately reflect the residents living here,” Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce,  Deputy Chairwoman Wanda Willingham, Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Bill Clay, and Majority Leader Dennis Feeney wrote in a joint statement. 

“Through hard work and countless hours, the Albany County Redistricting Commission and the Majority Minority District Subcommittee solicited valuable input from residents and helpful feedback from members of the legislature resulting in a final product that ensures constituents are well represented. 

“We would like to thank the Albany County Redistricting Commission for their hard work on this effort and all the individuals who were involved to move the process forward.”

Since the big issue with the rejected map was the majority-minority districts and the Albany County Redistricting Commission and the Majority Minority District subcommittee had followed the advice given by the legislature, the new map was all but guaranteed to pass this week. 

A breakdown of the changes to current districts can be found on The Altamont Enterprise website, in the Dec. 15, 2022 story on redistricting.